


When I Flew Higher

by jitteryfinch



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: After Legs from Here to Homeworld, Brainwashing, Crystal Gems, Diamond Authority - Freeform, Homeworld (Steven Universe), Homeworld Hierarchy (Steven Universe), Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 14:07:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16536020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jitteryfinch/pseuds/jitteryfinch
Summary: How many Diamonds does it take to fix a renegade Pearl?





	1. Chapter 1

_“...what’s the matter with that Pearl?”_  
_Tensions had been rising slowly but surely as the three Diamonds bickered, throwing sharp comments dripping in saccharine back and forth at one another without ever letting their smiles leave their faces. Blue was attempting to keep the peace as best as she could, but Yellow’s impatience and White’s force was getting the better of all of them.  
Both Yellow and Blue seemed relieved for the slight break in arguing, and both turned to look back at the Pearl White had specified as if seeing her for the first time._

~~~

Silence would be better than the dull, mechanical hum filling Steven’s ears. He couldn’t seem to recall how long he’d been in this room, pounding at the walls, waiting for something besides this blinding glow and terrible, constant drone.  
Suddenly- or perhaps not so suddenly, he was losing track of the time- a portion of the wall slid away, leaving a gap. Steven squinted at the door, trying to focus beyond the fluorescent colors dancing in front of his eyes from the bright lights.  
“Here you are, starlight.” White Diamond’s too-soothing voice pierced through the room, and he saw the silhouette of her hand pushing something inside. “This should work much better for you now.”  
He was too dazed to even think of rushing to escape, instead leaning closer to see what was being brought to him.  
Once his eyes adjusted, he could see the thin form of a gem, and his heart leapt when he saw the familiar face.  
“Pearl!” He cried, rushing forward to hug her tight around her waist, burying his face in her middle. “Pearl, I’m so glad to see you! She won’t listen to me, you have to help me—!”  
“How can I be of assistance?” Her voice cut him off, mechanical and outlandish, and he paused. Slowly, he let her go, looking up at her vacant eyes and forced smile.  
“...Pearl?” He repeated, taking a step back from her and tilting his head in confusion.  
“Yes, my Diamond. How can I be of assistance?” Pearl said again in that voice that was certainly her own but certainly not her own.  
Steven didn’t move from his spot, playing with his fingers as he stared at her. “Why are you... she’s gone, it’s okay.” He stumbled over his words, but Pearl didn’t respond. Her expression didn’t shift. She just continued to look, unblinking, right through him.  
“Pearl.” He sniffled, moving towards her again and tugging at the bottom of her shirt. “Pearl, please! Snap out of it! It’s me! Steven!” He babbled, tears stinging the corners of his eyes. “Please!”  
Her head seemed to move in slow motion as she lowered her gaze to meet his.  
“How can I be of assistance, my Diamond?”  
“Argh!” Steven growled his frustration, summoning his shield in his hand throwing it fiercely towards the wall—only to duck as it bounced back at him, ricocheting off the corners of the room twice until it embedded itself into the wall with a crunch.  
Steven winced at the sound, looking over at Pearl with a sheepish expression, but she appeared unphased.  
“Broken things normally upset you.” He frowned, walking towards the shield and placing his hands against the cracks in the wall.  
“Would you like me to fix it, my Diamond?” Pearl droned, stepping forward to meet him.  
“No! No, uh... Actually... Can you open the door?” He asked slowly, his eyes drifting to where she had entered from.  
“I can open the door, my Diamond, if it would please you.” She replied, though she made no motion to do so.  
“Yeah, okay.” Steven stated, but she still didn’t move. “Uh, yes, it would please me?” He tried again to no avail. Scrunching up his nose unhappily, he gave it one more try.  
“Pearl, open the door.”  
“Yes, my Diamond.” The reply is immediate, and Pearl pressed her fingers against the wall. There was a flurry of movement as she traces invisible lines, and the door slid open.  
“Okay, let’s go!” Steven grabbed Pearl’s arm and bolted into an unfamiliar corridor. She followed behind him on relévé, her feet sliding against the floor without taking a step. When he halted, she did too.  
“Which way is it?” He asked, and her answer is (unsurprisingly) less than ideal.  
“Which way is what, my Diamond?”  
“Which way is out?! Which way to Garnet and Amethyst and Connie?”  
“After following this corridor for .2 miles-“  
“Don’t tell me, just go! Show me! Fast!”  
He must have found the right words, because she suddenly rocketed down the hall, and he ran as fast as he could to follow her.


	2. Chapter 2

_Pearl’s entire form ran cold, alarm paralyzing her to the spot. She looked away as quickly as she could, pretending she hadn’t heard and staring absently into the distance as any other Pearl awaiting a command, but it was too late._  
“I don’t know. It’s Pink’s. It’s probably ruined from spending all that time on Earth.” Yellow dismissed, waving a hand and turning back to White, but she wasn’t finished. She turned her attention fully toward the little gem, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.   
“Hm. Yes, thousands of years in the colony must have rattled it terribly. Who knows what sort of nonsense it picked up?” She asked, her voice still retaining its musical tone despite the harsh words. “I’ll fix it up for Pink.”   
Every one of Pearl’s hard-earned instincts was telling her to bolt, to get as far away from her as possible, but she had barely even begun to inch backwards before White spoke again.  
“Pearl, come here.”   
It had been ages since she’d received an Order, but her body responded as if no time at all had passed, and she found that her legs were already obeying, walking towards the Diamonds.  
“No, no, no, no, no!” Her voice started off softly and crescendoed as her panic rose, but she didn’t break stride until—!  
Something stung her ankle, and she looked down to see Amethyst’s whip curled around her calf, keeping her locked in place.  
She glanced back to her team, and though Garnet was predictably unreadable, Amethyst’s expression was confused but determined.  
“C’mon, P. You don’t have to do what she says.” She muttered, giving her whip a tug and causing Pearl to stumble back towards the Crystal Gems. Pearl isn’t given time to explain.  
“Pearl. Come here.” White’s voice was slightly more assertive, and Pearl’s spear appeared in her hand. With one clean flick of her wrist, she tucked the end under the taut whip and sliced through it, continuing towards White Diamond.   
“No!” Pearl looked down at the now useless coil around her ankle and then back up ahead, her eyes widening as she approached closer.  
Once again she was stopped, this time hoisted up into the air as Garnet’s arms wrap around her waist and pull her close.  
“I’ve got you, Pearl. We’re getting out of here.” Her voice was a reassuring rumble, and for a moment, Pearl felt safe. With Garnet solid against her back and strong in the face of fear, no one stood a chance.  
“Pearl, I’m waiting.” The voice was shrill now, and the spear twirled in Pearl’s hand and thrusted back hard.  
A grunt, and Garnet’s arms tightened around her thin frame, her visor disappearing as she met her gaze with mournful eyes and was gone, two gems clattering to the floor followed by twin wedding bands.  
Pearl’s shriek echoed through the hall, but still she advanced forward, her hands trembling and tight on her spear.   
“My, such fuss!” White chided, one hand extending down for Pearl to step into. Her cries became harder to comprehend as horror strangled her throat.  
“No, please... Garnet... no...” She stammered, and White lifted her up.  
“Hush now.” The Diamond commanded, and her jaw clenched shut. “Let’s fix this mess.” 

Frantic footfalls echoed throughout the corridor as Steven ran after Pearl, racing to keep her in sight.   
His lungs were burning by the time she abruptly stopped, the tip of her nose nearly touching the wall in front of her.  
“Those you seek are inside.” She chirped, and the mechanical tone of her voice made his skin crawl. Grimacing, he stood beside her, leaning against the wall with one hand as he caught his breath.  
“Let... Let them out.” He panted.  
“Yes, my Diamond.”  
Steven toppled over when the door opened, landing on the floor with a grunt. He didn’t have long to recover; he was wrapped in a tight embrace before he could even stand.  
“Steven!” Connie’s voice was enough to make him breathe a welcome sigh of relief, and he hugged her tight.  
“Connie! I’m so glad you’re safe!” He started to pull away, but the embrace only became tighter as Amethyst joined in. “I knew it was going to be dangerous here, but I had no idea what to expect. Something’s wrong with Pearl. We have to help her!” Steven struggled free, finally finding his footing and turning to face into the room.  
“Garnet, what should we—!”  
His own voice echoed back from the walls, and he paused.  
“...where’s Garnet?” He finally turned to look at his friends, and Connie’s grief-stricken face made his heart drop into his stomach.   
“A-Amethyst says she’ll be fine.” Connie stammered, looking over at the gem for reassurance, and Amethyst reached out for Steven’s hand.  
In his shock, he staggered back from her, but she was persistent, her lavender hand outstretched, palm up.  
“Look, Steve-o, I’ve got them. See?” And sure enough, a blue and a red gem rest safely in her grasp. “Garnet will be back soon. These two never take long to reform. You know they hate being apart.” Amethyst smirked. Steven knew she was trying to lighten the mood, but he still shook his head.  
“What happened?”  
Connie’s gaze dropped down to her feet as she opened her mouth to speak, but Amethyst cut her off.  
“That doesn’t matter right now. What matters is helping Pearl and getting out of here, right?” Amethyst prompted, and Steven nodded, determination setting on his face once again.  
“Right.”  
“How is she feeling?” Connie moved to stand in front of Pearl, who still hovered in the doorway.   
“She’s, um... she’s not feeling, I don’t think.” Steven muttered, and Pearl blinked absently at them.   
Amethyst broke the silence, ushering the two aside to get to Pearl. “C’mon.” She mumbled, hoisting the motionless Pearl over her shoulder. She didn’t protest, simply folding delicately over the other gem. “We need to get Pearl back home.”  
“How?” Connie asked. “There’s no way we can get to the ship without the Diamonds seeing us.”  
“That’s okay. We’ll just tell them we need to swing back home really quickly.” Steven piped up, but the other two exchanged a nervous glance.  
“...I don’t think we should risk talking to them right now. Not after what they did to Pearl.”  
Amethyst stated, and Steven furrowed his eyebrows.   
“Blue and Yellow... They let this happen?” He asked, but his quickening pulse already knew the answer. A frustrated growl rose up in his throat as his fists clenched, and tears started to form in the corners of his eyes. “I can’t believe this!” He shouted, and his shield was in his hand before he knew what was happening.  
“Steven.” Connie spoke up again, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Breathe. We’ll work that out later. Pearl comes first.”  
A few deep breaths later and Steven replied.  
“You’re right.” He agreed. “Family comes first.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ten points to anyone who knows what the work title is a reference to. Anyway, thanks for reading! Please leave a comment, tell me how I’m doing and what you think they ought to do next!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I’m new to AO3 so please kudos and comment! What would you like to see happen next?


End file.
